Josh Mercer previews the round 24 clash between the Tigers and the Dragons.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Wests Tigers Vs St George Illawarra Dragons
Venue: CommBank Stadium
Date: Sunday, August 28, 2:00 pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Related: NRL Team List Tuesday
Embed from Getty ImagesTigers: 1. Daine Laurie 2. Brent Naden 3. Starford To’a 4. Asu Kepaoa 5. Junior Pauga 6. Adam Doueihi 7. Jock Madden 8. Joe Ofahengaue 9. Jake Simpkin 10. Zane Musgrove 11. Thomas Freebairn 12. Kelma Tuilagi 13. Fa’amanu Brown 14. Fonua Pole 15. Austin Dias 16. Jacob Liddle 17. Kitione Kautoga 18. Justin Matamua 19. Tyrone Peachey 20. James Roberts 21. Tukimihia Simpkins 22. Brandon Tumeth
James Tamou (suspension), Luke Garner (head knock), Ken Maumalo (groin), and Alex Seyfarth (shoulder) are all out this week. Joe Ofahengaue moves from lock to front row, and Fa’amanu Brown goes to lock. Jake Simpkin is in at hooker, with Jacob Liddle being one of the new faces on the bench, and Kitione Kautoga makes his debut.
Embed from Getty ImagesDragons: 1. Cody Ramsey 2. Mathew Feagai 3. Jack Bird 4. Zac Lomax 5. Tautau Moga 6. Talatau Amone 7. Ben Hunt 8. Aaron Woods 9. Jayden Sullivan 10. Blake Lawrie 11. Josh Mcguire 12. Jaydn Su’A 13. Jack de Belin 14. Tyrell Fuimaono 15. Jaiyden Hunt 16. Jackson Ford 17. Tyrell Sloan 18. Jack Gosiewski 19. Jonathon Reuben 20. Poasa Faamausili 21. Joshua Coric 22. Josh Kerr
Jack Bird is in the centres this week, with Jack de Belin moving into the lock position. Francis Molo (suspension) and Andrew McCullough (knee) are both out, and Jayden Sullivan goes onto the hooking role. Tyrell Fuimaono, Jaiyden Hunt, Jackson Ford and Tyrell Sloan are all new faces on the bench. Moses Mbye is also out of the side.
Referee: Liam Kennedy
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
Nothing can be said about the Tigers’ performance last week, which was abysmal. They were lucky to get any points on the board; an intercept try to Brent Naden was the only way they could score against the Roosters.
The Dragons should not have beaten the Titans, and they were only four points up when Francis Molo was sent from the field. Two things that stopped them from getting beat were playing the Titans and the form of their halfback Ben Hunt. Jack Bird and Tautau Moga had a field day, scoring two tries each.
The Tigers are going to have to play out of their skin if they are going to win this game. The Dragons are out of the top eight, but that doesn’t mean they can’t run up a cricket score if the Tigers don’t show up.
The Tigers need to try and finish off this season on a good note. Putting on a good show and winning some games will mean they have something to build on for next year when Sheens and co take over the coaching role.
Embed from Getty ImagesINTERESTING FACT
The Tigers have made fewer errors in the 2022 season than the Dragons. They have made just 226, while the Dragons have made 236.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Dragons by 16.
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